by Eryn Scott
My shoulders shook through a stifled laugh. I could see Liv’s mouth twist in an effort to do the same. Maggie sighed.
While the rest of the table was absorbed in my niece’s adorable comment, my eyes slipped over to my brother-in-law. Brooklyn had a point. Josh appeared sweaty, and a pale grimace had settled over his normally tanned, handsome features. My mind flashed back to his odd behavior earlier when I’d mentioned the murder investigation. Either he really did eat something that wasn’t agreeing with him, or Josh had more information about this case.
After Liv’s earlier betrayal, I didn’t feel the least bit bad about what I did next.
“Maggie, after hearing your thoughts on Alex, I can’t wait to get your take on the new guy Liv is head-over-heels about.” I turned my head slowly to meet Liv’s wide, blue, stabby gaze. “Liv, why don’t you tell her all about Carson?” Pulling my lips into a Cheshire Cat grin, I watched my sister take the bait.
Once Liv was squirming under Maggie’s interrogation, I turned to Josh.
“Wanna help me clear the table?”
He nodded warily. I could feel my sister’s eyes watch us in her peripheral vision, but if she suspected anything of her husband’s odd behavior, the chance to grill Liv about Carson proved too sweet a treat to pass up.
Josh and I collected as many dishes as we could, and then headed into the kitchen. After squirting probably too much soap into the sink, I blocked the drain and started the water, then spun to confront the distracted man behind me.
“Okay. What gives, man?” I whispered as forcefully as I could without the others hearing.
Josh’s chest heaved. He set the dishes on the counter and then ran a hand through his hair. “Pepper, I think I made a huge mistake.”
Blood hammering in my ears, I tried to focus. “What?”
“Remember when I said I knew it wasn’t Danny?”
“Yeah.”
He shook his head. “I’m starting to doubt that.”
“Why? What happened?”
Josh turned, paced away from me, and then swiveled back around. “I already told the police it couldn’t have been him, but—” He paused, his eyes sliding to the dining room behind me and then back to me. “Danny’s been sharing a lot more lately, about his daughter especially. He’s fighting for shared custody, something finally within his grasp now that he has a steady job and a clean slate with the law for the last few months.” Josh’s blue eyes darken. “He got worked up the other day and was ranting about how if he lost this job, he would surely lose his case.” Josh leaned closer, swallowing once more before whispering, “He said he’d make sure whomever was to blame wouldn’t live to regret it.”
Lips parted as I took in the new information, I exhaled in understanding. “And Dr. Campbell threatened to get him fired.” Seeing the sink was almost full, I shut off the water and then looked back to Josh.
He nodded and his brows were furrowed so tightly they were nearly a unibrow. “Then when you brought up the poison tonight…”
Spine straightening, I craned my neck closer as Josh’s voice dropped now that we no longer had the rushing water to cover up our conversation.
“Danny’s mom is a local homeopath, or something.” He shook his head. “She’s helping him a lot with the trial, with getting back custody of Lila. And in return, he’s going out and gathering a lot of the plants she uses for her medications.”
Eyes rolling to the ceiling, I tried to think of how that implicated the man. Luckily, Josh went on.
“We went out to lunch yesterday and he drove. He’s got a bunch of bags sitting in his car.” Josh’s stare held mine. “Pepper, he told me not to touch any of them because there was some poisonous stuff.”
I pulled in a deep breath, nose bunching. “Why would she use poisonous plants?”
Josh’s face let go of some of its tension. “I asked the same thing. Apparently homeopaths believe ‘like cures like.’ If you want to cure pain, you’ve got to give it something that causes pain. He said it’s used only in small doses, tiny in fact, but he gets large amounts at one time so she can dry it out and save it up.”
“Large enough to…” I curled my toes in my socks.
Josh nodded.
I pulled in a deep breath. “But if he was guilty, why would he go around telling you all of this?”
“I don’t know. Maybe he was dying to confess to someone. Villains do it all the time in movies. That could be based on real life.”
“True.” I tapped my fingers on the counter. “But I really don’t think Danny did this. Evilsworth is the murderer, I just know it. No one has a better motive than him. Don’t worry.”
“You two aren’t eating that whole pie by yourselves in there, are you?” Maggie’s voice sang into the kitchen.
We glanced at each other. Josh dipped his head toward the pie. “You take it in. I’ll get these dishes rinsed and loaded.”
The amount of pie I’ve eaten in my life must’ve been exponentially more than I can recall (or maybe I was a waitress at some roadside diner in another life), because my body seemed to instinctually know the routine. I managed to cut and serve the table dessert even though my mind was still focused on what Josh had divulged. Despite my suggestion to Josh to not worry, I couldn’t seem to make myself do the same.
It’s a testament to Char’s bakery magic that once I sat down to eat my own slice, the soft, flaky crust and sweet-but-at-the-same-time-tart cherry filling stole my attention away from Josh’s suspicions about Danny. Each new, delicious bite calmed me. So much so, by the time Liv and I were making our way to the door a while later, I was almost positive we didn’t have anything to worry about.
Josh pulled me off to the side as Liv and Maggie said their goodbyes. “You be careful with all of this, Pepper.” He pulled me into a hug.
“I will.” I turned my attention to my sister, squeezing her and sinking into her familiar arms for a second. “Thanks, Mags. Call if you need anything. I can come watch Brooklyn whenever this guy decides to come out and meet us.” I patted her belly goodbye.
Maggie cupped my face in her hands and then leaned in close to kiss me on the cheek. “Thanks. Love you.”
I shrugged on my jacket and sidled up to Liv who stood with her hand on the door knob.
“Teasing about Alex aside,” Maggie said, pinning me in place with a serious glare. “I think you should listen to the guy. I would feel better if you had someone around watching your back.” She wore the same pleading expression she used when we were growing up and she didn’t want me to tell Mom and Dad a secret.
Threading my arm through Liv’s, I winked. “Don’t worry. I’ve got this girl by my side. We’re good. I promise. Night, Brooklyn,” I called into the other room even though I’d already gotten my goodnight squeeze from the little munchkin.
Liv and I stepped out into the cold before my sister could make anymore ominous statements. We kept our arms intertwined as we walked home. While campus felt like a somewhat worrisome place right now with a killer on the loose and all, being in town still felt like my safe space. The colorful buildings and houses crowded around us like a protective hug.
After a block or so, Liv cleared her throat. “Sorry about giving up the Alex intel…” In the glow from the streetlights, I could see my best friend frown.
“It’s okay. Sorry about telling her about Carson. It really wasn’t as much retribution as a needed distraction.”
“For what?”
I recounted what Josh had told me about Danny and his fears the man wasn’t innocent.
Liv blew out an exhale. “Whoa. That’s pretty big. Don’t you think?”
Shaking my head, I said, “Not really. Evilsworth’s our guy, Liv.”
“Okay… if you’re sure.”
“I am.” We rounded the street and our apartment complex came into view. “See? I don’t need Alex around to babysit me. I was able to find out information about the case and shockingly lived to tell about it.”
I let go of Liv’s arm and winked at her as I dug in my pocket for my keys. But as we stepped closer to our apartment, I realized, with a sinking feeling, I didn’t need them.
The door was already open.
It wasn’t wide open, but had been pushed far enough that it wasn’t latched. In the sliver of space between the door and the jam, sat a notecard.
Trembling fingers reaching, I plucked the thick paper and the door snicked the rest of the way open, swinging slow and wide. The gray exterior of the apartment complex swirled around me as my eyes lit on the handwriting I’d seen twice already.
Come not within the measure of my wrath.
My eyes rolled in fear as I finally registered the now-open entrance to our home.
“Hammy.” The word left my mouth in a heavy whisper which sank like a stone. I dropped the card and ran inside.
Her body was limp, spilling out of her little teal dog bed. My stomach clenched in fear.
“Oh no. Hammy, I —” I knelt down next to her, my hands shaking again as I reached forward, not wanting to feel the coldness I knew in my gut my fingertips would meet. Tears welled in my eyes, but I couldn’t bring myself to wipe them away.
A snort made me jump. Hammy’s body writhed and her legs windmilled in the air for a moment as she grunted into a standing position, eyes wide. When her gaze landed on me, her pink tongue lolled out of her mouth and she pranced forward into my already outstretched arms.
“Sweet baby Jesus, thank you,” Liv whispered behind me. “She seem okay?”
I met my roommate’s eyes, almost electric in their intensity and then nodded. “I think so.” My hands swiped all over Hammy’s furry body. The dog leaned into me, snorting some more in her enjoyment, unaware this was not merely another petting session. “I think she really was just sound asleep.”
Shaking my head, I stood, pulling Hammy into my arms with me. I wasn’t letting that dog out of my sight for a good while, if I could help it.
“I think you’re going to have to eat your words, Pepper.” Liv shook her head, running her hands up and down what were probably goosebump covered arms. “Because now seems like a really good time to call Alex.”
Swallowing, I nodded. “Actually, now seems like a good time to call his father.”
16
After the police arrived, questioned us (as well as some of our neighbors), and convinced our apartment management to add a deadbolt to our door, there were only a few hours left for sleep.
Ha. Not that we could relax at all after the break in.
We curled together on the couch. Hammy was squeezed between us and we wrapped ourselves tight in all the blankets we could find. And then we stared at the door, at the new dead bolt.
That’s not to say we got no sleep. I woke with a start at six and Liv’s head was resting on my shoulder as the blankets moved up and down with her slumbering breath. She blinked awake soon after and we decided to get up. Even though we had a pretty good excuse to skip our classes today, we wanted the distraction.
Whatever sleep we had gotten, however, was obviously far from enough. Exhaustion weighed on my body as we walked Hammy to Maggie’s to stay for the day and a massive yawn pulled at the corners of my mouth as we stumbled into Bittersweet on our way back toward campus. Newt must’ve heard what happened already, because when Liv and I walked in, he proffered two of the largest to-go cups I’d ever seen toward us. Not only did we get to skip the line, but he wouldn’t let us pay a cent.
Grateful smiles pulled at our tired faces, but after about two minutes into our walk toward campus, neither of us had taken the first sip. I kept shooting mine pensive looks and holding it close to check if I could smell anything weird (‘cause I totally know what poison smells like).
“He did seem to know where we live…” Liv said, her words stepping out on shaky limbs as she narrowed her eyes at her own drink.
Wetting my lips, I nodded. “We had questioned him only hours before the break in. And he had these coffees ready for us…”
“He had an alibi, though.”
My fingers closed even tighter around the coffee. “Detour to see the new boyfriend to confirm it?” I tilted my head in question.
Liv must’ve been too tired to roll her eyes at me, because she simply nodded and we picked up our pace toward the student center.
Still-full coffees sloshed in our hands as we approached the cart which made up the sad-excuse-for-a-latte stand that was the Campus Cup. There wasn’t a line wrapped around the block, like at Bittersweet, but there was more of a gathering than I had expected. A gathering of girls, to be exact. Five ladies I knew to be founding members of the “Bring the Greek System to NWU” coalition, stood in various states of posing.
There was so much pouting, chest flaunting, leg lengthening, and hair flipping that I actually looked around for cameras — an impromptu fashion shoot in a small state college might be a thing, right?
It turned out that, nope, it wasn’t. These sultry students were focused on — none other than — Liv’s new guy.
Carson stood behind the cart, pulling levers, pouring liquids, and pumping syrups. He was cute. That had never been up for debate. With his easy smile, brown swoopy hair, and his deep blue eyes, the guy was almost as swoon-worthy as I, annoyingly, found Alex. No, it was his goofy, frat-boy-esque personality which made me question Liv’s interest.
As we stood there, Carson barked out a low whoop, followed by, “Steve-O! Drink’s up, buddy.” Then he slid the full cup along the cart’s countertop.
Liv watched him, enraptured. I inwardly shook my head. Love truly knew no bounds.
As we watched, the person I can only assume was Steve-O, lunged forward and grabbed the cup right as it rocketed off the edge. The coffee spent a good second in air before he caught it. The onlookers gasped and clapped as Steve-O stood up with the intact order, raising his hands above his head as if he’d performed a difficult dismount off the pommel horse at the Olympics.
“Maybe Newt wasn’t being paranoid,” I mumbled. “This place does look a lot busier than normal.”
Before Liv could answer me, Carson’s deep blue eyes locked on us. “As I Liv and breathe! What a surprise.” He wiped his hands on a cloth and stepped out from behind the cart.
While I approved of the way his face broke into a full grin at the sight of my best friend — darn right she deserved someone who lit up when they saw her — I wasn’t crazy about the daggers being thrown at us from the heavily mascaraed eyes of Carson’s group of admirers.
Just then, something else caught my eye. Behind the student center, through the floor-to-ceiling windows, I saw one of the university’s utility vans. Danny opened the sliding side door and kneeled just inside, fiddling with some electronic equipment.
Liv smiled and stepped forward, splitting my attention. “Hey Carson.”
He gave her chin an adorable little tug with his thumb and pointer finger and then tipped his head toward me, saying, “Hey, Peps. How goes it?”
I smiled a hello to him and then shot Liv an incredulous look as she glanced back toward me. Given how my best friend basically had hearts for eyes as she turned back toward Carson, I decided to humor her even though she didn’t deserve it with the way she’d acted around Alex the other day.
Or maybe… I could use this opportunity to go question Danny. After the break in, I was more motivated than ever to get this whole thing behind me.
I took two steps, but Carson placed both of his hands on his chest and leaned back a little.
“You trying to stab me straight in the heart?” he asked
I thought he was talking about me leaving, so I stopped. But then I noticed he was focused on our coffees, stamped with the Bittersweet logo.
Pink color rushed to Liv’s cheeks and she shoved her drink into my free hand, causing me to divert all of my attention to these two love birds instead of watching Danny outside. I was about to scoff and ask what in the name of Espresso was wrong with her (I know the woman did not
just choose a guy over good coffee), when she stepped toward Carson and put a delicate hand on his apron-covered chest. His eyebrows shot up and the charming grin on his face turned sly.
“Carson, Pepper and I don’t have much time, but I needed to ask you a question.”
His lip curved up on one side. “Anything.”
“Did that guy from Bittersweet come talk to you the other evening? It would’ve been Tuesday?” Liv checked with me and then turned back toward Carson when I nodded.
Carson’s brow furrowed. “Yeah, he did. It was super weird. He said some creepy stuff about… zits, I think and then he was gone.” Carson rubbed the back of his neck and added, “It was right when I was trying to close, like six thirty.”
“So he was only there for a moment?” she asked.
Carson shook his head, freeing a few locks of hair from the gelled swoop. “I wish. The guy sat there staring at me for almost an hour before he approached and threaten me.” Carson pointed to one of the tables nearby. “He watched me like he was thinking of how best to cook me up and eat me.” Carson shivered.
The evidence clicked into place in both Liv’s and my brain at the same time, it seemed, because our eyes locked.
Newt’s alibi checked out. He was not the murderer. Which meant…
I frantically tipped my coffee back at the same time I shoved Liv’s forward into her waiting hands. She took a long sip from hers, letting her eyelids flutter in the ecstasy of the moment.
Carson stood there with that grin still curling up his lips. Liv turned back toward him.
“Thanks, Moore. See you later.” She held up her coffee. “We gotta run.”
Right. Class. I glanced outside quickly. Maybe I could still catch — nope, the white van was gone. Crap. I’d missed Danny a second time. Turning in the opposite direction, I caught up with my friend as she reached the doors out to the square, an outdoor seating area next to the student center. Our classes were in separate directions, but before we split up, she raised her coffee to me. “Proost.”